Gerald Leo Smith, Homeless Korean War Veteran Needs Help Proving He's Alive

Daytona Beach homeless veteran says he can't get help because government thinks he's dead

WFTV 9 News

By: Lauren Seabrook

Updated: Dec 5, 2017 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - When Teri Ahmann found Gerald Leo Smith living in the bushes in Daytona Beach as Hurricane Irma loomed, she saw a bit of herself in him, having been homeless herself three decades ago.

She decided to reach out to the Navy veteran and offered to buy him a drink.

“For whatever reason, he just looked sad to me, so I walked up and I say, ‘Can I get you a beer?’” Ahmann said.

She then asked Smith where he was planning to shelter during the hurricane.

“He said he didn’t know,” Ahmann said. “He was going to go where God told him to go.”

Ahmann decided to take Smith in and soon learned that he served in the Navy during the Korean War and had been walking the streets for more than three decades.

She helped Smith clean up, bought him new clothes and even tried to open a bank account in his name.

That’s where they realized they had a problem.
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Daytona Beach Commissioners Blowing Smoke on Medical Pot?

Daytona residents, city commission at odds over pot dispensaries

Daytona Beach News Journal
By Eileen Zaffiro-Kean
Posted Aug 5, 2017

“I think that’s ridiculous,” said 37-year-old Josh Whitney, an Iraq war veteran who was tormented with post traumatic stress disorder for 11 years until he started using cannabis oil every day.

 “I don’t want people walking out and lighting up,” said City Commissioner Dannette Henry, who worries about pot smokers hanging around businesses and places kids could be.

The vast majority of Daytona Beach voters approved allowing more people to get medical marijuana. But a majority of city commissioners are leaning toward banning dispensaries in the city.

DAYTONA BEACH — Last fall, 71 percent of state voters supported making medical marijuana available to more Floridians battling excruciating illnesses like cancer and Parkinson’s disease. In Daytona Beach, the support was even stronger. Twelve of the city’s 15 precincts had 76-90 percent of their voters backing the proposal to make pot legally available for far more medical reasons. The other three precincts weighed in with yes votes from 69-74 percent of voters.

A total of 22,040 Daytona Beach residents checked the “yes” box, more than three times the 6,104 who checked “no.”

Commissioners haven’t taken a final vote yet. But if at least one of the four commissioners opposed to dispensaries doesn’t have a change of heart by the time they do vote in the next month or two, people fighting everything from multiple sclerosis to epilepsy will have to road trip to other parts of Volusia County to get their medical marijuana.
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Florida Army National Guardsmen Left for Afghanistan

Florida National Guard unit deploying to Afghanistan 
13 News
By Jason Wheeler, Reporter
March 16, 2015

A send-off ceremony was held Monday, March 16, 2015 at Daytona Beach International Airport for the nearly 200 soldiers from the Florida Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.

DAYTONA BEACH
Dozens of Florida Army National Guard soldiers said goodbye to family and friends Monday as they began a 9-month deployment to Afghanistan.

A farewell ceremony was held at Daytona Beach International Airport for the nearly 200 soldiers from the Florida Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.

Gov. Rick Scott was also in attendance.

The soldiers from units in Volusia, Flagler and Putnam counties are deploying to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel for a base security mission.
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Daytona Beach Budget Inn Express Denies Veteran Room Over PTSD Service Dog

Veteran denied motel room in Daytona Beach because he had service dog
WFTV News
June 25, 2014

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Daytona Beach motel owner who refused to welcome a vacationing veteran and his service dog is now facing a possible misdemeanor charge.

Former Army Sgt. Robert Price has a service dog named Walker. Price suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury after facing bomb attacks for years in the Middle East.

When he went to check in at the Budget Inn Express on Tuesday, he told the desk clerk as a courtesy that he had a service dog and the woman immediately told him that dogs weren’t welcome.

Price said it took time to accept the idea of having a service dog, but now he and Walker are inseparable. He said when they were denied a room at the Budget Inn Express, he started recording the confrontation with his cellphone.

"Because I have a service dog, I can't have a room?" he asked.

"Service dog or whatever. Dog is dog," said motel owner Bina Patel.

Price wasn’t alone on Tuesday as police officers escorted him to the La Quinta, where they not only welcomed him but gave him a very generous discount on his room.
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Decorated Marine putting his life back together

Decorated Marine putting his life back together
Daytona Beach News Journal
By Eileen Zaffiro-Kean
Published: Sunday, December 15, 2013

DAYTONA BEACH — What were you doing the morning of Oct. 23, 1983? You probably can’t remember. Steve Gildow can’t forget.

About 6:20 a.m. that day, Gildow went from a peaceful slumber under the covers to a hellish scene of dismembered and dying men after a truck carrying thousands of pounds of TNT smashed into the building where he was staying and collapsed the four-story structure into a pile of flaming rubble.

Gildow was a 23-year-old Marine back then, stationed in Beirut as the Lebanese Civil War waged on and a group calling itself Islamic Jihad decided to create the truck bomb that killed 241 American servicemen.

Gildow survived the blast along with 114 other wounded Americans, but he’s left with one scar where a piece of metal went through his stomach and another scar where the waking nightmare pierced his psyche.

“I think that’s where my post traumatic stress disorder started,” the now 53-year-old Daytona Beach man said.

A few decades would pass before Gildow realized he had PTSD, and started to understand how it made his life slowly unravel. But first he would serve in more conflicts and peace-keeping missions that often get lost when other U.S. soldiers are honored for their time fighting in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We’re the forgotten ones,” said Gildow, who was involved in special operations and was awarded two Purple Hearts and two Humanitarian Medals.
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Daytona race leaves fans injured after crash

Update February 24, 2013
From WESH2 News
28 Hurt in last lap crash at Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —At least 28 people were injured Saturday when large chunks of debris, including a tire, sailed into the grandstands when a car flew into the fence at Daytona International Speedway on a frightening last-lap accident in the second-tier Nationwide Series race.

Daytona Nationwide crash: Kyle Larson's frightening wreck sends car parts into stands
Jeff Owens Sporting News

Speed TV reported that 15 spectators were taken to local hospitals, with six being treated for trauma-like injuries.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A spectacular crash in the Nationwide Series race Saturday tore apart the catch fence and sent parts of Kyle Larson’s car, including the engine, flying into the grandstands at Daytona International Speedway.

Larson’s car was flipped upside-down into the fence during a frightening melee on the final lap.
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Veterans take final Honor Air Flight to Washington

Veterans take final Honor Air Flight to Washington
By Jason Wheeler, Reporter
Last Updated: Sunday, September 30, 2012

Veterans on Honor Flight return to welcoming crowd

DAYTONA BEACH
Hundreds of World War II veterans from across Central Florida descended on Washington for their final Honor Air Flight.

Early Saturday morning, veterans from Volusia and Flagler counties met at Daytona Beach International Airport where they hopped aboard a chartered jet.

It was the tenth and final Honor Air Flight put on by a trio of rotary clubs in West Volusia County.

Over the past five years, volunteers raised more than $800,000 to send just over 1,000 veterans to the various war memorials in their honor.

“Well, this'll be the first time that I could, what you call, bear going up and looking at that wall. Because I've got quite a few friends up there,” said Charles Hargrove, Sr., a veteran.
v Hargrove fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
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PTSD a mother's story

Jason Pemberton, Highly-Decorated Iraq War Veteran with PTSD, Kills Wife Tiffany, Himself in Daytona Beach, Florida
FEBRUARY 6, 2012
by BRETT WILKINS

A highly-decorated Iraq war veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) killed his wife and himself in Florida over the weekend, the latest casualties in a military mental health crisis that has been growing in recent years as hundreds of thousands of troops return home from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan and struggle to re-adjust to civilian life.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that 28-year-old Jason Pemberton and his wife Tiffany, age 25, were found dead in their Daytona Beach, Florida apartment on Sunday morning. Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood described a horrific scene discovered by police responding to a neighbor’s call. Another neighbor said he head two gunshots around 9:30pm on Saturday but did not notify authorities.

A preliminary investigation found that Pemberton shot his wife in the chest with a rifle before turning it on himself, shooting himself in the head.

Pemberton, who served with great valor as a sniper in the U.S. Army, was a highly-decorated soldier. He was awarded three Purple Hearts, awarded to troops wounded in battle, as well as a Bronze Star and other medals. But he also suffered from PTSD and received a medical discharge from the Army in 2009 because of a severe back injury suffered when his parachute opened too late.
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Iraq vet recounts struggles at suicide prevention conference

Iraq vet recounts struggles at suicide prevention conference
BY DEBORAH CIRCELLI
EDUCATION WRITER
June 8, 2012

DAYTONA BEACH -- Just five days into his deployment in Iraq, Bryan Adams' close friend and his company commander were killed when an explosive device buried in the road detonated.

Later, during that same Army deployment as a sniper in 2004, he and two other soldiers were ambushed while walking back to their unit. He was shot in the left leg and another bullet grazed his hand.

"As I was running, there were bullets everywhere," the 28-year-old told more than 200 people at Thursday's third annual Matter of Life & Death Suicide Prevention Conference, which partly focused on veterans.

"I could feel the heat and hear the noise -- boom, boom, boom. My future was flashing in my face -- everything I wanted to do."

The Rutgers University senior from New Jersey shared the anxiety he lived with daily while in Iraq waiting for the enemy to attack.

"It's a terrifying environment to be in. You can feel the anxiety in the air," he said.

That anxiety followed the Purple Heart veteran home as he tried to reintegrate back into society where he described feeling like "an alien." His struggles trying to fit back in included alcohol binges, depression and being angry until he was diagnosed and sought treatment from the Veterans Affairs for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Adams now speaks around the country for a student group called Active Minds, which raises mental health awareness on college campuses. His message is "seeking help is a strength as opposed to a weakness."
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Daytona murder-suicide brings to light PTSD struggles

Daytona murder-suicide brings to light PTSD struggles
BY LYDA LONGA, STAFF WRITER

February 7, 2012

It's not clear if Jason Pemberton -- the Iraq veteran who shot and killed his wife, then himself -- ever sought help for the combat post traumatic stress disorder that gripped him, friends and a relative said.

On Monday, veterans of both the Vietnam and Iraq wars said it's difficult for those returning home from battle to admit defeat in the face of a mental disorder such as combat PTSD.

Police said Pemberton, a 28-year-old Army veteran who served three tours and was awarded three Purple Hearts for his wounds, shot his wife, Tiffany Pemberton, with a rifle on Saturday; he then turned the gun on himself. The bodies of the couple were found Sunday in their Daytona Beach apartment.

None of the veterans who spoke with The Daytona Beach News-Journal on Monday were surprised it happened.

There is often a stigma attached to seeking help from the Department of Veterans Affairs because many veterans -- especially younger ones -- believe asking for assistance from the VA means "something is wrong with you," said Charles Tubbs, a spokesman with the VA in Orlando.
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Murder Suicide may have ended life of 3 tour Iraq vet and wife

Murder-suicide may have ended life of 3 tour Iraq veteran and wife

Police say ex-82nd soldier and wife from Lillington killed in Daytona Beach, Fla., murder-suicide
Feb 06, 2012
A staff report

A Harnett Central High School graduate and a former 82nd Airborne soldier were killed Saturday in Daytona Beach, Fla., in what police there called a murder-suicide.

Police found Jason Pemberton, 28, and his 25-year-old wife, Tiffany Selvia Pemberton, dead in their apartment Sunday, according to a news release. A preliminary investigation indicated Pemberton shot his wife and then himself with a rifle, the release stated.

The couple had lived in Daytona Beach for about a year.

Jason Pemberton, a native of Alabama, was a former staff sergeant with the 82nd Airborne Division. He deployed to Iraq with the 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team in 2007, according to an Army news story from that year.

Jason Pemberton served three tours in Iraq, his uncle, Darrel Pemberton, told the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
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He was decorated, had Purple Hearts and was a sniper.

Iraq vet shoots and kills wife; himself in Daytona Beach
Updated: Sunday, 05 Feb 2012
By Steve Gehlbach
FOX 35 News
Police in Daytona Beach say a decorated Iraq War veteran shot and killed his young wife before turning the gun on himself.

Neighbors of the couple's apartment off of Jimmy Ann Drive thought they heard two gunshots late Saturday night, but didn't think anything was wrong Sunday morning. "When they didn't see or hear from them, they went knocked on the door, no response around 11 a.m. and they called us," says Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood.

Officers kicked in the door and found 25 year old Tiffany Pemberton dead from a gunshot wound in the living room. Her husband, 28 year old Jason Pemberton was dead in the bedroom about 10 feet away with what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head from a rifle.

"He was a man that had a big heart and he just snapped," said neighbor Rick Lang of Pemberton.

"He was highly decorated, three purple hearts, was really not happy about the way he was being treated by the V.A."
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Iraq vet shoots and kills wife; himself in Daytona Beach: MyFoxORLANDO.com

Original story

2 deputies shot responding to domestic-violence 911 call

2 deputies shot responding to domestic-violence 911 call
By Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel
3:37 p.m. EST, November 26, 2011

Two Volusia County deputies are recovering after being shot this morning when they responded to a domestic-violence call.

The Sheriff's Office received a 911 call about 4:50 a.m. reporting that Corey Reynolds, 27, had tried to kill his ex-girlfriend at her home in DeBary, deputies said. Reynolds was arrested on charges of felony battery and two counts of attempted murder of a law-enforcement officer.

The 24-year-old woman told investigators Reynolds threw her down and began to strangle her because she told him to leave. They used to live together, and Reynolds wanted to get back together, she told deputies.

Deputy John Braman and Deputy John Brady arrived at Reynolds' house on Huntington Street in Deltona about 5:30 a.m. and tried to arrest him. The deputies and Reynolds struggled as they tried to handcuff him, and Reynolds pulled out a handgun and shot Braman and Brady, the Sheriff's Office said.

Braman was shot in the right shoulder and left arm, and another bullet grazed his neck. He was taken by helicopter to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
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After over 60 years, Daytona Beach soldier's remains are coming home

Many people do not know how many were not accounted for after Korea.

KOREAN UNACCOUNTED FOR
(Bodies not identified/bodies not recovered) 8,176
Prisoner of War 2,045

Killed in Action 1,794

Missing in Action 4,245

Non-battle 92

Total: 8,176

After over 60 years, Daytona Beach soldier's remains are coming home
By Jason Wheeler, Volusia County Reporter
Last Updated: Friday, April 22, 2011 2:58 PM
DAYTONA BEACH --
The son of a U.S. soldier, killed during the Korean War, is getting ready to lay his father to rest -- 61 years after he died.

Sergeant First Class James Caldwell's remains were were excavated from a mass grave by the North Korean government in the 90's, and turned over to the U.S.

DNA helped identify the remains at the POW-MIA Accountability Center.

Johnston Caldwell was a toddler when his father disappeared in 1950.

For Caldwell, he and his sister said their goodbyes years ago.

"I lost my dad when I was a kid, only 4 1/2 years of age," Johnston Caldwell said. "I never got to know that much about him except what my mother told me, so we kind of buried him a long time ago."

James Caldwell's remains are being flown to Volusia County on Monday. They will be met by a full military honor guard, as well as the president of the local Korean War Veterans Assocation, Robert McGuire.

According to McGuire, Caldwell's family is lucky. Many more families are still waiting for word of their loved ones.
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Daytona Beach soldier's remains are coming home

Here is one more story I came across that will warm your heart a bit more. It is about the Vietnam War and a group of veterans, police and firefighters making a difference.

KIA Man’s Dog Tag Returned to Family by Nam Knights
Biker group returns fallen soldier’s dog tag
By AUDREY PARENTE, Staff writer

March 10, 2011 – DAYTONA BEACH — At 16, Darlene Woodruff looked up to her soldier cousin, Army Sgt. Robert Melvin Fletcher, who wrote letters to her from the jungles of Vietnam.

The thought of him not coming home never crossed her mind. But on Mother’s Day in 1968, she learned of his death.

“I remember thinking — wondering — what kind of things he had faced over there as such a young man,” Woodruff said. “I remember thinking he had done something far greater than I had done or would ever do.”

More than four decades later, as part of an annual Bike Week party Thursday morning, she learned how her cousin died.

At a special ceremony at the Veterans of Foreign War Post 1590, she watched her sister, Sharron Blais, clutch his dog tag and hug the soldier in whose arms he died.

The former soldier, retired steelworker Clifford William Searcy Jr., found his way to Daytona Beach and Fletcher’s family as part of a chain of events that began in 1998 when a Wall Street trader bought a sack of 100 dog tags from a Vietnamese peasant. The journey ended with Searcy telling Woodruff and Blais the story of their cousin’s final moments.
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KIA Man’s Dog Tag Returned to Family by Nam Knights

Spc. Keith Buzinski Soldier from Daytona Beach killed in Afghanistan

Soldier from Daytona Beach killed in Afghanistan
By Anika Myers Palm, Orlando Sentinel
1:52 p.m. EDT, April 9, 2011
The Department of Defense announced today that a Daytona Beach man died this week while serving with the U.S. Army as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Spc. Keith Buzinski, 26, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30 Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y.
Soldier from Daytona Beach killed in Afghanistan

Daytona Beach Vietnam Vet wins battle over flag

Vietnam Veteran in Florida Wins Battle Over Display of U.S. Flag

Published July 23, 2010
FoxNews.com


A Florida Vietnam veteran who went to war with his apartment complex over the right to post an American flag in his window appears to have won a stars and stripes showdown.

Carlisle Vereen, of Daytona Beach, told Central Florida News 13 that "patriotism" led him to tape the paper flag to the inside of his apartment window last Thanksgiving. No complaints were received at the time, he said.

Joann Thompson, a manager at Manatee Bay Apartments, told FoxNews.com she gave Vereen a notice earlier this week indicating that the flag needed to be removed from the window within 24 hours or it would be disposed of by apartment officials.

The notice indicated that no signs were allowed on doors or windows, but Thompson said the flag -- which was originally made of paper -- had been replaced with a plastic version and is now in compliance with the complex's regulations.

"The issue was that it was paper and all faded and torn," Thompson said. "We didn't want this to go this far. I understand why he got upset -- he's a veteran, he's very passionate. It was not my intention to upset him."
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Vietnam Veteran in Florida Wins Battle Over Flag

Shooting incident involved Iraq vet, PTSD

Shooting incident involved Iraq vet, PTSD
By LYDA LONGA, Staff Writer

Iraq veteran Joshua Gerard was discharged from the Army last year, but the fighting never stopped within him, his family said Tuesday.

That inner struggle -- fueled by post-traumatic stress disorder and bouts of heavy drinking -- came to a head Sunday night when sheriff's officials said Gerard, 29, pointed a shotgun at Sgt. Vidal Mejias.

The sergeant, a 15-year-veteran of the Sheriff's Office, shot Gerard in the abdomen and the elbow. A Gerard family spokeswoman said Tuesday that Gerard is in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

Gerard's father, Jim Gerard of Pittsburgh, said Tuesday afternoon the bottom line with his son and others like him is that these young veterans are not seeking the help they need for emotional issues prompted by war.

"Our family is deeply saddened and stunned by the events that transpired on the evening of May 9 when our beloved husband, father and son, Joshua Gerard, reached the end of his mental and emotional rope," Jim Gerard said. "Joshua did not receive the adequate care he needed to recover, cope and once again become part of civilian life."
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Shooting incident involved Iraq vet PTSD

Report: Staff at veterans nursing home feels terrorized by administrator

Report: Staff at veterans nursing home feels terrorized by administrator
ANTHONY COLAROSSI

Sentinel staff report

2:57 p.m. EDT, August 28, 2009
DAYTONA BEACH - A State Department of Children and Families Inspector General's Investigation found that many staffers at a Daytona Beach Veteran's Nursing Home found the workplace environment to be problematic.

The probe found that 35 of 57 staff members had particular concerns about the administrator at the Emory L. Bennett Memorial State Veteran's Nursing Home. The administrator, Belkis Pineyro-Wiggins, was described by those 35 employees as "terrorizing" or "belittling" and "degrading" or "threatening," according to the 13-page Management Review completed earlier this month.

Pineyro-Wiggins could not be immediately reached for comment this afternoon.

In a comments section at the end of the report, the Inspector General's Office recommended that the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs review specific portions ot the document and determine appropriate actions.
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Staff at veterans nursing home feels terrorized by administrator

Bruce Rossmeyer Killed In Motorcycle Accident in Wyoming

Bruce Rossmeyer Killed In Motorcycle Accident
Thursday, July 30, 2009 9:10:54 PM



Daytona Harley-Davidson at Destination Daytona
Destination Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH -- Bruce Rossmeyer, an icon in the motorcycle community and known for donating millions to charities, is dead.

Rossmeyer, who was instrumental in getting the bike events, such as Bike Week, that are so important to Volusia County's economy reportedly died Thursday in a motorcycle accident in Wyoming.
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Bruce Rossmeyer Killed In Motorcycle Accident

UPDATE

Bruce Rossmeyer, Harley-Davidson empire builder, dies in motorcycle crash in Wyoming
"World's Largest" Harley-dealership owner Bruce Rossmeyer killed in motorcycle accident on way to Sturgis biker rally

Ludmilla Lelis

Sentinel Staff Writer

July 31, 2009
Bruce Rossmeyer staked his claim as the world's largest Harley-Davidson dealer, amassing an empire of 15 dealerships and stores across the nation, including his crown jewel, Destination Daytona off Interstate 95.

He made his face and name synonymous with motorcycles on TV commercials and massive highway billboards. Using his blockbuster persona, he promoted Daytona Beach's Bike Week and his favorite charities.

On Thursday, Rossmeyer died on a Harley, riding a Wyoming highway with a pack of friends on his annual trip to Sturgis, the biker mecca in South Dakota.

Rossmeyer, 66, lived in Ormond Beach. He is survived by his wife, Sandy; five children; and several grandchildren.

"He was in that moment that he lived for. He was doing what he loved to do," said Richie Supa, a fellow biker and musician who performed at Rossmeyer's charity events. "How ironic it is for him to be on a motorcycle in one of the most beautiful riding territories in the U.S.
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Bruce Rossmeyer Harley-Davidson empire builder

Veterans: Show Some Respect For Flag Day

Veterans say to honor the flag is to pay respect to soldiers serving right now, those who have served and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Veterans: Show Some Respect For Flag Day
Central Florida News 13 - Orlando,FL,USA
Sunday, June 14, 2009 9:02:07 PM
Reported By Saul Saenz

PORT ORANGE -- It was a small, but hugely important celebration outside the American Veterans 911 post in Port Orange.

The gathering was in honor of the stars and stripes.

"I have the deepest respect for old glory, the one that I fought for," said Vietnam veteran Rick Bernardani.

The 89-year-old Air Force veteran's step is a little slower than in the days he fought in World War II. But his respect for the American flag is steadfast.

Bernardani says others have lost that respect and that fewer Americans fly it on the day set aside to honor the flag.

"The younger people are not respecting it. They don't realize they wouldn't have the life they've got if it wasn't for us," said World War II veteran John Rugglas.

Those veterans say that it’s because of the respect that they hold for the American flag that they take issue with governmental agencies that do not fly it on Flag Day; like a Port Orange post office, or this Daytona Beach post office or even the Daytona Beach City Hall.

click link for video and pictures

One more reminder troops still in Iraq

While the media stopped paying attention to Iraq and Afghanistan, the troops are still dying and still getting wounded.

Soldier from Daytona Beach killed in Iraq
Gary Taylor Sentinel Staff Writer
3:52 PM EST, January 7, 2009

Staff Sgt. Anthony D. Davis, 29 (January 7, 2009)
A soldier from Daytona Beach has been killed in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced this afternoon.Staff Sgt. Anthony D. Davis, 29, died Tuesday in Northern Iraq from wounds suffered when he was shot by enemy forces, officials said. Davis was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, out of Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga.
Read the official statement here.